Los Angeles
The City of Pasadena and the Rose Bowl Operating Company filed a lawsuit against UCLA after the university signaled it may move its football games from the Rose Bowl Stadium to SoFi Stadium.
Home to UCLA’s sporting events since 1982, the Rose Bowl is located about 26 miles away from the university’s campus, making accessibility difficult for students. UCLA has faced dwindling attendance at the stadium over the past few years, worsened by the Bruins’ poor performance. A move to SoFi Stadium, half as far from UCLA’s main campus as its current venue, could help boost attendance. However, the move would violate the university’s lease on the Rose Bowl, which lasts until 2044.
According to officials from the City of Pasadena, the agreement “explicitly states there is no option for UCLA to terminate the lease early.” The city has also invested in the stadium over the last decade, funding over $150 million in renovations to improve the gameday experience.
“The city expects UCLA will honor the terms of the agreement,” a Thursday statement reads. “Pasadena will do everything in its power to protect the city’s contractual rights on behalf of the public interest, its residents, and the region.”
While UCLA hasn’t made any material moves to violate the lease, the university’s stated intent prompted officials to file the lawsuit. The institution’s counsel has stated that these discussions are not grounds enough for legal action, as no breach of contract has occurred yet.
Madrid
Real Madrid defeated FC Barcelona 2-1 in the latest edition of El Clásico at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium.
Ahead of the much-anticipated game, Barcelona’s star forward Lamine Yamal accused Real of “stealing and complaining” in regards to the referee controversies in past El Clásicos.
The match began with the referee awarding Madrid forward Vinícius Júnior a penalty after he was fouled by Lamine Yamal, but a video assistant referee’s decision overturned the call. After a 12th-minute goal that was ruled offside, star striker Kylian Mbappé redeemed himself after scoring in the 22nd minute.
Barcelona found their equalizer in the 38th-minute, though forward Fermín López off an assist from forward Marcus Rashford. However, Los Blancos regained the lead from midfielder Jude Bellingham’s 43rd-minute tap-in. In an action-packed yet scoreless second half, Barcelona goalkeeper Wojciech Szczęsny guessed the right way and saved a penalty from Mbappé in the 49th minute.
After the final whistle, veteran defender Dani Carvajal confronted Yamal, his Spanish national teammate, over his pre-match comments. Both teams’ benches got involved and players had to be separated.
“If Carvajal wanted to talk to him, he could’ve done it privately,” said Barcelona midfielder Frenkie De Jong. “Making gestures on the pitch just fuels the fire. Lamine never said Madrid cheats, I never heard that.”
Real Madrid’s victory puts the team five points clear of Barcelona in La Liga, sitting with 27 points to second-place Barcelona’s 22. The teams will meet again on May 10 for the reverse fixture.
Paris
On Monday, authorities announced that the trial for far-right activist Loik Le Priol, charged with murder of former Argentina rugby star Federico Martín Aramburú, is set to begin in September 2026.
In the early hours of March 19, 2022, Aramburú and Le Priol were involved in an altercation outside a bar in Paris’ Left Bank, where Aramburú was shot several times in the back. Le Priol’s accomplice, Romain Bouvier, will be tried for attempted murder after injuring Aramburú in the thigh and the side.
After fleeing the scene, Le Priol was arrested four days later at the Hungary-Ukraine border, where he told police that he was “on his way to fight” in Ukraine. Authorities found three combat knives in his vehicle.
Aramburú’s death sent shock waves around the rugby community. His image was displayed at France’s Six Nations finale against England at Stade de France back in 2022.
“Never again should a human being die in these conditions, never again should a family be mourned for reasons of far-right ideology,” friends and family of the French rugby community wrote in a tribute letter. “We will continue to fight for our values, our ideas, we will always fight against those who want to let hatred into our country. Our differences are our wealth. We are a Nation.”
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